Effects of some weather variables on the signal strength of Maloney FM radio, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study aims to assess the effects of atmospheric temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure on the signal strength of Maloney FM Radio, 95.9 MHz, Keffi, Nasarawa State. It is essential to measure the signal strength of the new radio station in relation with some parameters of weather to provide effective service delivery to the critical sectors and the entire populace. The research was conducted using the data of atmospheric temperature, atmospheric pressure, relative humidity, and the strength of the Maloney radio signal acquired from 6.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. daily at a 30 min interval, from January 2023 to June 2023, in Karshi, Abuja, a neighbouring town to Nasarawa state where the radio station is located. The data analysis involving cointegration and descriptive statistics of the effects of atmospheric variables on the radio signal strength was implemented using Eviews and Microsoft Excel Software. The results showed daily and monthly variations of the radio signal strength as well as the atmospheric temperature, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity. The variation is such that the lowest monthly signal strength was in June, probably due to higher rainfall in the area in June being the last month in this work (Jan.–Jun.) compared to other months which are dry season (January–March) or when the rain was just starting (April–May), in the study area. It was observed that atmospheric temperature and pressure negatively correlate with signal strength while relative humidity positively correlates with received signal strength in all the six months under study. The cointegration analysis also showed a long-term relationship between the radio signal strength and the atmospheric components, as the probability on the first row on the tables of both Trace Test and Maximum Eigenvalue methods were 0.0016 and 0.0008, which are less than the 5% (0.05) set critical value. In the same way, the critical value results on the same first row in both methods are smaller than the Trace statistics values. This implies that there is a long-term relationship between the atmospheric variables and the Maloney FM radio signal strength. These results will help mitigate the attenuation effect, and attendant signal loss of the radio station's signal strength. By proxy, the results will support the operations and regulations of spectrum management in the design of satellite communications and satellite microwave band specifications in Nigeria. In addition, the pre-determination of the radio station location will depend on this study's result analyses, considering that the effects of atmospheric temperature, pressure, and humidity conditions are inevitable. Governments, policymakers, stakeholders, and other relevant authorities should ensure the domestication of the study by providing the necessary research materials and facilities for wider studies. As regards the Maloney FM radio station, Keffi, studied in this work, there is no similar or related work done on it before now, hence, providing the detailed relationship between the signal strength of the radio station and some weather variables will go a long way in the improvement of the quality of signal transmission from Maloney radio station. The results when provided to the station, will enable the management to also evaluate if their set target of the station such as the radio horizon, radio signal coverage, and the link budget have been met.